Wave-mo



J. B. BRADFORD AND A. F. LEVITT.

WAVE MOTOR.

APPLWATION FILED JULY 1, 191a 1,334,335, Patented Dec. 9,1919.

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WAVE-MOTOR.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 9, 1919.

Application filed July 1, 1918. Serial No. 242,760.

ToyaZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN B. Bnaoronn and 'ARTHUR Lnvrrr, citizens of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeies and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements; in Nave-Motors, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to wave motors and consists in the novel features herein shown, described and claimed.

Figure 1 is a perspective of a wave motor embodying the principles of our invention.

Fig. 2 is a verticalsectional detail through the transverse center of the float and pier platform and taken on the line 22 of Fig. 3.

the line 33 of Fig. 2.

The pier platform 1 is mounted upon piles 2 at the shore. The accumulator tank 3 is mounted upon the platform 1 and is provided with a valve controlled drain l, a blow-off valve 5, and a pressure gage 6. A pipe 7 leads from the bottom of the fiCC-UIHIL lator'tank 3 to the water motor-8 and the water motor 8 is belted to a dynamo 9. The discharge pipe 10 from the water motor 8 leads downwardly through the platform 1 to return the water to the ocean.

The piles 2 are preferably arranged in sets of four, forming a rectanglein plan. Guide bars 11, 12, 13 and 1 1 are fixed upon the inner faces of the piles 2. A float 15 in the form of a hol-low flat boat is mounted between the guide bars 11 and 12, and between the guide bars 13 and 141:, there being a central opening 16 vertically through the float. Channel plates 17 are fixed upon the corners of the float at the upper side and at the lower side, there being an upper and lower channel plate for each of the guide bars 11, 12, 13 and 14 so as to hold the float 15 in position and allow it to move up and down under the influence of the ocean waves. A lower bearing member 18 is mounted upon the float around the opening 16, a large hear ing ball 19 seats downwardly upon this hearing member 18, an upper bearing mem Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional detail on her 20 is'inserted downwardly to fit the ball 19, and the bearing members are connected together and to the float by bolts 21. A. vertical bore 22 is formed through the bearing ball 19 and a pipe nipple 23 is screwed into the lower end of the bore 22 and extends downwardly into the water.- A. neck 24 exopens upwardly.

An opening 31 is formed through the -platform 1 in vertical alinement with the opening 16 in the float, an upper bearing member 32 is placed against the lower face of the platform. around the opening 31, a bearing ball 33 is placed upwardly and seated in the bearing member 32, a bearing member 34 is placed upwardly around the bearing ball 33, and bolts 35 are inserted through the platform 1 and through the bearing members 32 and 3 1 to hold the members together and to hold the bearing rigid with the platform. A vertical bore 36 is formed through the bearing ball 33, a pipe section 37 telescopes within the pipe section 27 and has a flange 38 bo ted to the bearing ball 33 around the opening 36, and a fiat check valve 39 is constructed at the lower end'of the pipe section 37 and opens upwardly; so that as the float 15 falls, water willpass upwardly through the check valve 30, and as the floatrises the check valve 30 will close and hold the water and force it upwardly through the check valve 39 and continued action of the float will cause a stream of water to flow upwardly through the opening 36.

A stufling box construction 40 is formed upon the upper end of the pipe 27 around the pipe section 37 so that the pipe section 37 operates like a piston or plunger in the pipe 27.

A flexible pipe 41 has a flange 42 upon its lower end secured to the bearing ball 33 by bolts 43 and the upper end of the pipe 41 discharges into the accumulator tank 3.

The accumulator tank 3, when empty of water, is full of air, and air tight, and the operation of the float will pump water into the tank and compress the air, and the air pressure will furnish a steady stream of wa ter and water pressure through the pipe 7 to the water motor 8, thereby changing the unsteady motion of the float into the steady motion of the motor.

If it is desired to stop the water motor 8 the valve 44: in the drain 4: be opened to allow the water to run out of the tank as fast as it is pumped in, and the pressure and power may be regulated by manipulating this valve.

The bearing balls 19 and 33 in their mountings, together with the pipe 4:1, form a universally flexible connection between the float and the tank so as to allow the float to vibrate more or less in its travel up and down.

The float 15 may be very large and the other parts correspondingly strong so as to furnish any desired amount of power.

Any desired machine may be driven from the water motor 8 instead of the dynamo 9 and electric power may be taken from the dynamo for any desired purpose.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of our invention as claimed.

We claim:

1. A wave motor comprising four piles driven into the ground at a shore, a pier platform fixed upon the piles, guide bars attached to the inner faces of the piles and forming a vertical slideway, a float mounted to move up and down in the slideway, there being a central opening vertically through the float, a lower bearing member mounted upon the float around the central opening, large bearing ball fitting downwardly upon the lower bearing member, an upper member inserted downwardly to lit the ball, said bearing members being connected together and to the float, there being a vertical bore through the bearing ball, a pipe nipple screwed into the lower end of the bore and extending downwardly, a neck extending upwardly from the bearing ball, a bolting flange formed upon the neck, a disk fitting against the bolting flange, a pipe section having a second bolting flange fitting against the disk, bolts connecting the bolting flanges together, a check valve construction upon the disk and opening upwardly, there being an opening through the'platform, an upper bearing member placed against the lower face of the platform around the opening, an upper bearing ball placed upwardly against the upper bearing member, a second bearing member placed upwardly around the upper bearing ball, bolts inserted through the platform and through the bearing members, there being a vertical bore formed through the upper bearing ball, a second pipe section telescoping within the first pipe section and having a flange bolted to the upper bearing ball, and a check valve in the second pipe section.

. 2. In a wave motor, a latform having an opening, a float mounted to move up and down below the platform, there being a central opening vertically through the float, a pipe mounted in the opening in the float, means forming a ball and socket connection between the pipe and the float, a second pipe telescoping in the first pipe, means forming a ball and socket connection between the second pipe and the platform, a flexible hose leading upwardly from the second pipe, and check valves in the pipes so that as the float goes up and down water will be forced up wardly through the pipes.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification.

J. B. BRADFORD. ARTHUR F. LEVITT. 

